Methods Of Teaching Home Science

METHODS OF TEACHING HOME SCIENCE

Communication is the process by which messages are transferred from a source to a receiver. It is also a process of sending and receiving messages through appropriate channels between two people or group of people.

Channel of communication constitutes the medium through which information or message is conveyed. These channels or methods of teaching / learning or techniques of communication may be classified or discussed in many ways. They include both formal and non-formal teaching methods and use of audio/visual aids. Details of these were discussed in the earlier text. In this chapter we will learn a few selected methods and aids which can be used in the class room by the teachers and students to present ideas and information in simple ways.

Home Science has two distinct situations of teaching, i.e. formal and non-formal. Learners under the non-formal education system differ from learners under the formal system of education, in their background, resources and motivation. The traditional classroom teaching methods used for formal groups may not be equally effective with the non-formal. In a formal situation, teacher-oriented methods can be used whereas in non-formal teaching situations learner-oriented methods have to be implemented.

However, whatever may be the teaching situation, the basic values, principles and limitations of the teaching methods remain the same. A communicator should be able to adopt each method according to the situation by modifying or improvising it. For example, in a formal situation, necessary classroom arrangements have to be made if demonstration or workshop methods are to be used, but in a non-formal situation students may be seated under a tree or in the verandah of a school, temple or panchayat office.